This post was sponsored by Bad Moms Christmas + Evite It's not that I'm a Bad Mom, per se. It's just that sometimes, I'm a bit of a slacker. I love my kids. I love making things special for them. But sometimes, I'm also just tired. Physically tired, but also tired of trying to keep up with the Pinterest-worthy lifestyle. Take the holidays, for example. It feels like every holiday has to be this over-blown production for the kids. Like St. Patrick’s Day. When I was a kid we . . .

I've been talking a lot about self-care lately but the truth is, it's really hard for me. With the kids back in school now, I have a little time to focus on my own self-care. Today I'm sharing some of my personal best practices for self-care, including my bullet journal, an incredible detox scrub and mask from Teami Blends that are like a reset button for my face, some of my favorite scents, and my favorite relaxation playlist. If you want to try Teami's awesome mask made with a blend . . .

This post is sponsored by OC Bus I’m great about using public transportation when I travel. I’m enthusiastic about to taking the subway when I visit New York. I’ve taken the tube in London and the metro in Paris, and when the kids and I visited Amsterdam last year, we rode the bus everywhere. And yet, in my own city, I must confess that I’ve never even taken the bus. The other day, I found myself with 15 kids at my house. I usually have an extra kid or two at the house on any given . . .

On Thursdays I post from the vault. This post is from June 2014. Next year is the year, people. It's when Karis starts kindergarten. My youngest. My last. I haven't quite figured out how that's supposed to feel. Part of me thinks I might break into song and go skipping jubilantly through my house. Because freedom! I will be able to work without distractions every weekday. I will not have to struggle to maintain a work-life balance because I can just WORK during those precious hours. . . .

When we set out to adopt from Haiti, the ethics of the organization we would work with was a top concern. I believe in family preservation, and I did not want to adopt a child who was removed from living birthparents for monetary reasons. I did a ton of research and kept getting the same answer: Heartline. They had a great reputation in Haiti, and they tried very hard to reunify birth families when they could. The people who work at Heartline will always hold a special place for me, because . . .